NetBeans 6.0 Beta 1 Released (Ruby Edition available)
NetBeans is an open-source IDE written in Java (somewhat like Eclipse, but not the same), and version 6.0 is the first with a Ruby-specific edition that focuses solidly on the things that Ruby and Ruby on Rails developers need. The NetBeans team have just released the first beta version.
NetBeans is a powerful and free. You can create Ruby and Rails projects, run Ruby files, configure interpreters (MRI and JRuby), install Gems graphically, run tests, run RSpecs, debug Ruby code, run Rails apps, and so on, all from the IDE. The Ruby edition is only a 19MB download and it's available right now. There are several Ruby related NetBeans screencasts for the less convinced.
Also of interest will be George Cook's summary of why NetBeans is "THE best Ruby on Rails IDE" which features tons of screenshots and example uses.
(Thanks to Hendy Irawan for the reminders about this release.)
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September 19, 2007 at 2:46 pm
I'm not exactly a NetBeans evangelist, but it's seriously one hell of a good IDE. :-) Of course the best part is that it's free, which makes commercial IDEs have a tougher job.
As I'm writing this, the NetBeans download server seem to be having intermittent problems :-(
September 19, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Torrent-based downloads should be made more "commonstream" (commonly used and mainstream).
It will make Internet bandwidth worldwide equally dispersable, rather than going through the same route/servers just to download something that you can get several miles away.
September 19, 2007 at 4:25 pm
They have a ruby page setup at http://ruby.netbeans.org/ - lots of good info, as well as nightly builds (which are stable for the most part, and very usable)
September 19, 2007 at 5:07 pm
I've been using the dev builds for a few months. It's really good. One thing to note for new users... It comes with JRuby and uses that by default when you click the "run" button. You may be fine with this, but if not go into the prefs and enter the path to your native Ruby executable. (You'll need to do that anyway if you want to use the fast debugger gem. Actually debugging is kind of a journey, but once you get it running it's great.)
September 19, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Thanks for the tip. Looks promising. I love Ruby but hate the IDEs for it. Solid code completion not only helps write code faster but makes sure you do not wait for run time to see you miss typed a method name. Code completion looks great so far but it does not complete on Active Record records. I will be giving it a spin.
September 20, 2007 at 5:31 pm
The requirements for 6.0beta1 say you need a JDK, however I've found that if you download the zip-bundled binaries (http://dlc.sun.com/netbeans/download/6_0/beta1/zip/) rather than the ones wrapped in an installer, you can use it with just a JRE.
For those of us who would like the least possible amount of Java stuff on their systems. :)
I have always resented the fact that all the cool IDEs (Eclipse, Netbeans, jEdit, etc) are Java-based and therefore require a JRE in order to run.
September 26, 2007 at 3:09 pm
If you want the latest ruby features for netbeans go and download Tor's latest builds at:
http://deadlock.netbeans.org/hudson/job/ruby/